Discontinued story (New one will be up soon!)
by Mari Cherie
Summary: I will be rewritting this story and posting soon! Sorry for the inconvenience!
1. Author's Note

_Rin Mei was never looked at as an ordinary girl. Mainly it was her style, her personality and her interests. But what most people don't know, is that there is a bigger part of her life that hardly anybody has witnessed... While joining a spiritual case, Rin finds herself introduced to a variety of new, possible, friends. The SPR group, or more formally known as the Shibuya Psychic Research team are an oddball gang that Rin immediately takes interest in. But will she be able to handle interacting with the new friends? Or is she doomed to roam reality like a lost spirit.. If she even gets that chance?_

 _(Original Summary)_

 _ **This is my first Fanfic, so I hope you guys (if you're reading this) will bare with me if it sucks. I LOVE writing, but that never means those who enjoy it are any good at it. In the future chapters, I hope you review [Negative or positive, whichever it may be (thought I hope positive, can't always be certain)]. I won't ask for anything else, you guys are free to do what you like. I can say I would appreciate anything else you guys offer, even if you want to help me edit my chapters, that would be amazing. Otherwise, I hope you guys enjoy!**_

 _ **I do not own Ghost Hunt, only my added characters (those will be obvious)**_

 ** _I will also be changing a few things about the current Ghost Hunt characters, nothing extreme, because I like them the way they are... well, except ages, I changed one person's age a wee bit. This character isn't me, but does have similarities (of course) , because whenever an author writes a story, the main character (even if it is another gender) has some similar traits as the author does in real life cx. So, I'm just giving you guys a heads up so you don't think anything... Negative? I'm just hoping._**

 ** _Anyway..._**

 ** _Jaa ne!_**

~○o○~


	2. Prologue: Sinister Dreams

**_Prologue_**

 ** _Sinister Dreams_**

 _Darkness surrounded her, swirls of black and grey behind her eyelids as she lay on a cold surface, her body shivering in it's balled-up position. It took her a moment to open her drowsy eyes, only for a flash of light to make her flinch them closed again. Lifting her hands up to her face, she rubbed her eyes gently, opening them more slowly the second time, allowing them to adjust to the sudden brightness before her. She uncurled her body and lay flat on her back, her joints aching in protest, before sitting up straight and gazing around._

 _Glowing lights floated as far as the eye could see, illuminating the seemingly endless blackness all around. The scenery, or lack-there-of, reminded her of the night sky, except she was getting an up-close experience, in a way. At that thought, she wondered where she was. Fogginess coated her memories as she tried to remember something, anything at all, to no avail. Instead she received a sharp pain that traveled through her head, making her wince, and she grab her head. She massaged her temples, ending her feeble attempts of regaining any memory, and shook her head slightly to clear the remaining pain. She sighed in relief as it went away, then looked around another time. Still nothing but lights, lights, and more lights. Frowning, she knelled then stood up slowly, glancing around for anything other than the floating balls of light surrounding her._

 _Nothing._

 _No walls, no doors, no ceilings, or other objects. Her frown deepened as she took a step forward, feeling nothing beneath her feet. She felt no solid ground, as if it had simply disappeared while she was standing there. But then, she didn't feel that she was falling. She stayed in place, afraid to move in fear she would start plummeting to her doom, like stepping off a high cliff above the clouds and plunging into the mystery below them. Although she was nervous and albeit a little scared, her confusion and curiosity over-ridding her other emotions a wee bit more, giving her enough courage to take another step. Wither she fell or not would be her demise._

 _Regardless of that thought, she eased a foot forward, leaning weight on it, hoping she wouldn't drop completely forward into the nothing underneath her. To her surprise, her foot was met with something solid, although it only lasted a split-second before the feeling vanished. Her leg stayed where she put it, her balance unmoved._

 _She drooped her shoulders, relaxing her body, and took another step, then another, and pushed forward, hoping to see something new. Whilst she strolled along the open space (though it came across more as gliding), she paused in her gait as she felt her shoulders twitch. Her hands shook slightly, and she felt sweat on her neck and forehead. Her heart raced rapidly and her head ached._ What's happening? _she wondered, the sound of her voice in her head resembling a little scared child's, am.. am I having a seizure? The longer this went on, the more anxious she felt, fear poking around her brief serenity. The longer this went on, the more anxious she felt, fear poking around her brief serenity. It was like she was getting washed away the longer she stayed in that place, the universe of lights before her stripping her sanity drop-by-drop as the bodily-liquid ran down her pale cheeks._

 _After she tried taking calming breath, inhaling shallow bits of air at first, she began to feel a bit more like herself. She stood there, hugging her arms to her torso. A chill ran up and down her bare arms, and she frowned, glancing down at herself. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "Oh, God..." She took a moment to digest the fact that she was completely nude, wherever she was. She could feel her cheeks heating up, though she knew that no color would appear on her olive skin. After waking up in this situation and walking around for God-only knew how long, she had/em just noticed the fact that she had no clothes whatsoever on her small frame. A howling wind met her, the cold making her body tremble again. This was all a little to much for her to process, unfortunately, and she felt the tears behind her eyes, threatening to wreck her body in sobs. Giving up, she went back to her original position on the 'floor', a firm sensation numbing her chilled skin as she laid down, only lasting a moment as usual. She hid her face in her arms, cradling her knees to her chest as she hyperventilated. It took some time for her to regain her breath, though it was still evident that she was freaking out._

 _A sudden thumping sound made her jump, and she lifted her head in response, her eyes glancing in every direction, hardly taking in anything but glowing spots. Her heart began to beat faster, and she tightened her balled-up body in fright. Her respiration started to kick up again, and she held her breath. Another thump sounded, followed by a growl. She gulped and closed her eyes, shaking her head to try to calm herself. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again, and she stood up in a high crouch, turning clockwise, taking in everything around her. She was having one of her brave moments again, where curiosity over-came her fear. Not that that was always a good thing._

 _Once again, she could see nothing but the lights. But instead of the lights simply floating, she saw them moving in every direction, like comets in the sky, dancing together. She blinked as she watched in awe, completely forgetting about the odd sounds from earlier. The lights began to crowd around her, coming closer and closer. One light touched her shoulder, and she yelped in pain. The light felt as though it was gripping at her skin, trying to tear it from her, burning her as though she was a burning log in a blazing fire. More and more lights touch her, and she let out a low scream. The burning sensation moved to every part if her body the lights came in contact with. The tears from before pooled in her eyes and dripped as her screams grew louder and louder. Torched, mangled flesh ripped off her body as the lights tore through her. She gasped through her blistered throat, and all she could do was take it. Her body ceased moving, completely scorched by the once pristine beautiful glowing balls. In spite of her corpse, she could still hear a faint, low malevolent voice laughing in glee._

 _Apart from everything that had just occurred, that laugh terrified her the most._


	3. Ch I: Sudden Involvement

_**Chapter I**_

 _ **Sudden Involvement**_

 _"Hey! Who's down there? This area is off limits!"_

The bleached tawny luminescence of a lone flashlight lit up the top few concrete steps of the darkened stairwell as the security guard, Harumi Uchida, arrived hastily to inspect the clamor. Not even moments ago, as he had been walking around the property, he heard a loud shuffling echoing near the mouth of the archway leading down into the tunnels. He, regrettably, was in charge of keeping any unauthorized personnel out of the tunnels during his night shifts until they could tear down the one-story building—that, oddly enough, had a maze of corridors throughout the entire under-area—which sparked his coworkers to simply refer the maze as _the tunnels_. The most logical of reasons it was being torn down was it's old age and frail structure, as it could spontaneously collapse at any given moment and lethally crush anyone underneath its depths. For some undisclosed reason, there was an open stairway that led into the dark abyss that was the tunnels, whom nobody thought of adding a door before and instead hired night-guards to keep things under check. Not only that, but there were the supposed rumors of a legend about these tunnels in particular; that they were haunted by the spirit of a young woman who was betrayed coldly by her former lover and killed in the depths of the underground walls, only to plague the long, dark corridors below and attack anyone who dare disturb her once happy, now miserable sanctuary. It was also said that she would purposely lure unsuspecting men into her realm to get her revenge on the male species, believing all men were scum and needed to be punished brutally.

 _But, stories are just that, stories_ , he assured himself. They couldn't possibly be real. To think the ghost of a young woman killing men for one mans crimes? Yeah, right. That was as likely as he becoming a millionaire. _How would they even know of the reason why she lures men down into the maze? It's ridiculous._ Despite his thoughts, he preferred not to have any blood on his hands if tonight were the night _it_ just so happened to cave in on any unsuspecting thrill-seekers, or for him to witness any ghostly apparitions if he had the choice.

The night was silent as he simply stood before the underpass; very few cars drove by the fence that was only a few yards away. The sound of the tree leaves ruffling in the wind and crickets singing their nightly songs were soothing to the security guards skittish nerves. The only thing left that would completely leave him at ease would be the assurance that nobody was sneaking about in the tunnels where he was suppose to be keeping watch; and, of course, nothing awaiting him down below. Unfortunately for him, the noise echoing from underneath continued once again upon his approach. Frowning, he rubbed his prickly chin, feeling the five o'clock shadow of stubble he neglected to shave that morning, and shivered at the cold, harsh breeze. The wind cut into his cheeks like razors, so he lifted up his arm to try and block it from catching his face. The howl of the gale was loud, but it was nothing compared to what the guard could still hear coming from beneath his feet.

Just as he had concluded his thoughts on that matter, the shuffling noise suddenly stopped, making Uchida frown and cup his ear towards the entrance, his hands slightly trembling. From the cold or fear could be anyone's guess, but if there really were a ghost, he'd have a chance to run away, right? There wouldn't be any more reason to investigate the noise, _right_? He knew he didn't have any other choice but to venture down into the pitch-black maze. Gulping at the growing lump in his throat, Uchida held his flashlight close to his hip, his other hand gripping the handle of his taser. He could simply electrocute any civilians or unwanted company if it were a real threat—if that were not already obvious. Yet considering the taser rods would do nothing to help stop any ghosts, if there were any, that is, the feeling of the weapon in his sweating palms made him feel a little safe... as well as vulnerable.

Taking a deep breath, Uchida Harumi placed on large, heavy booted foot on the first step down the stairwell, and then another, until he was inside the mouth of the concrete arch holding the dirt above the ground on this hill side. The further he descended, the more stiff his legs became. He peered down the steep rock steps into the darkness, sweat making the grip on his flashlight slacken somewhat. He stopped after taking another few steps down to listen for any movement below. He heard nothing, only the sound of the winds impact on the exposed stairwell wall of the tunnel and distant and rare cars driving by on the rode.

Perhaps he was just hearing things; his imagination must have been running wild from all the gossip the other security members passed along when their shifts ended. Surely, ghosts did not exist. He was simply getting paranoid. He sighed at his foolishness and shook his head, a trembling chuckle escaping and echoing as the noise bounced off the walls. He decided it was time to circle back and keep watch outside, where it was certainly less nerve-wracking than inside the near-depths of the darkness. He turned around and lifted his leg to tread up the stairs when he suddenly felt something warm puff of air on his neck, as though someone were breathing over his shoulder. He stiffened, his body stationary as his eyes widened in fear. There was another warm breath, this time by his jaw. Suddenly, a chilling, body-less voice purred directly in his ear, _"Let's have some fun in the dark, darling...We can dance in your crimson breath for a while tonight... Oh... You shall be ever so pleasuring... Allow me to demonstrate just how much you mean to me..."_

He opened his mouth in a terrified scream and urged his body to scramble towards the exit, when a powerful, invisible force picked up his body and slammed him onto the staircase. A female shriek of maniacal laughter echoed endlessly in his ears as he was thrown down. He gasped out in severe pain, his jaw having been smashed downward onto a step, possibly shattering it. The overpowering force lifted him back up and flung him against the walls, ceiling, and back onto the staircase again, whipping him around like a yo-yo. He was unable to cry out now without emitting a gurgling, muddled gasp as he choked on his own spit and blood.

 _"Yes... Weep your sorrows like the scum you are~! Men are demons... you deserve to rot and bleed for our tortured souls... I will show you the mercy we were dispelled..."_

Tears escaped his tightly pinched eyes and his body felt like a mangled, twisted, and bloody disaster of flesh and muscle as something solid wrapped around his left ankle and dragged his weeping body down the staircase, his head making a loud **THONK** on just about every step it hit. If not for the darkness, Uchida would have assumed he were unconscious; every one of his muscles had gone numb from the intense pain he was experiencing, assuming he was not paralyzed from the neck down. He knew plenty of bones had to have broken, not that he could do much about it by this point.

 _"We'll play another game, hmmm~...? I'm having a marvelous time... This is what we receive in return for you bastards crimes and horrors towards us... Feel our pain, our suffering... YOU WILL BE ON THE RECEIVING END OF THE HORRORS THIS TIME!"_ There was another bark of laughter, horrendously dry as the whisper of a voice cackled and groaned.

At the moment, he was to busy being dragged down an immensely long set of stairs to perceive anything the disembodied voice declared. Other than his attack, he was surprise he wasn't already dead, or knocked out, for that matter. But he was aware of what was happening, or so he assumed. That was what scared him the most. It took everything in him to try and focus on his situation, though terror definitely overrode his thoughts most of the time. His head hit the last step, his skull throbbing so intensely that it felt like his brain would explode. His limp body began to drag down the pitch-black hall at a fast pace, and his head screamed for mercy. He didn't want to die tonight. _He didn't want to die at all!_

Suddenly, a distant light illuminated the darkness from the direction he'd came from, splotched of black spots still covering his vision. The dazzling light blinded him, causing his head to erupted in agony. In a single moment, all of his senses dulled dismally; his sight obscured, his ears ringing to deafening tones, his body unable to perceive the ground beneath him, and his smell, completely useless as his own blood filled his nostrils completely. He had never felt so _li_ _feless_ and out of control.

After what felt like an eternity, the ringing in his ears faded ever so slowly, to be alerted by blaring pandemonium. His skull still throbbed, but he could hear a faintly distorted chanting as he regained his one sense. The words he heard were in a language he could not understand; well, that, or he simply could not hear the phrases properly. As time passed, he could hear the shrieks of another voice, this one more familiar, as it screamed in pain. It cried out in absolute hatred, and he realized it was his attacker who was screaming. The chanting voice raised an octave and he could tell, while it still sounded somewhat distorted, it was a woman's voice. The words were still complete gibberish to him, but the force and power was evident in her tone. Somehow, it soothed his pulsing cranium, the throbbing dulling to a feeble migraine(which was already many times better than it's prior state), and his tense body relaxing. The cries continued, but they did not disturb him at all. It was like he was a sailor listening to a siren's song, blissfully content.

 _"No...! This is... my NEST! You can't just... come and hurt ME... Stop! I'm lonely... Please, I'm.. not done... I must get my... Revenge! No!"_ There was an abrupt pause as an agonizing scream rattles the area, _"SCUM! I will KILL Y—KYAHHHHH~!"_ The ghosts cried out in a shrill voice as it was cut off, its echoes diminishing every second. It wasn't long until silence encased him, the chanting having formerly ended. In no time at all, the agonizing pain came back. He wished with all his might that the woman would start chanting again. He wanted to hear the siren's song... He needed it, he couldn't bare the pain much longer.

A soft sigh reached his ears, "You've had enough 'revenge' for one lifetime, Hun." The woman's voice said in a mellow tone, "And you've surely done quite the number on this poor man. _Engañar_..." She trailed off, her speech softening and her words slurring together, as though she were tipsy from drinking. Footsteps echoed in the hall as the woman drew near him.

"Sleep now, this will tide you over until the ambulance arrives," the siren stated, placing something by his face. An odd smell engulfed his nostrils, opening his nasal passages and allowing him to sniff the scent. As he inhaled it again, it began to smell faintly of lavender and honey. The aroma grew stronger, and he sighed pleasantly, enjoying the smell. From a distance, he heard an ambulance siren blaring it call, then footsteps, and then chatter. As he laid on the concrete, his mind fogged as the scent surrounded him, making everything distant until only blackness and silence was left.

* * *

A raven-haired Chinese man sat at his office desk, his long fingers practically flying across his lap-tops keyboard as he typed away. It was fairly late at night, but he had not yet finished his report on the latest case the _SPR_ ( _Shibuya Psychic Research_ ) team had completed. It had been quite a while since the they have had other cases, so his boss had demanded a full report, no details forgotten. And none would be, of course.

As he typed, there was a knock on the door behind him. He paused, his fingers hovering over the keys, and listened, then answered the door by raising his low voice, loud enough to carry through the wood, "It's open."

The office door opened up to reveal a girl in her late teens with short, brunette hair, her hands folded in front of her as she smiled slightly, "I was just getting ready to leave for the night, would you like some tea before I go?" She asked in an exhausted yet friendly manner to the older man.

After a moment, the man shook his head, "No, thank you Mai-san."

Mai nodded and bowed, stepping out of the room, "Alrighty then. Have a good night, Lin-san."

He nodded in return and went back to his work as he heard his office door close once again.

It was another twenty or-so minutes later that he finally finished his report and set it up to print and file. As he waited by his printer-machine, he glanced at the clock that was hung up near on the wall, his head the same level as the device. It read roughly eleven o'clock at night, and he sighed silently, rubbing the bridge of his nose from fatigue. As he waited for the rest of the papers to finish, he gazed around his roomy, yet fairly empty, work-office. The walls were an off golden-sand color, not that he particularly minded— or cared, for that matter. His desk sat across the room the from door, his back to the only exit. There was no window in the small, square room. To some, it would feel like a holding cell, but to Lin, it was an acceptable work space.

When the papers had finished printing, Lin picked them up and shuffled them so they were neatly straightened before stapling the report together at the corner. He placed the little booklet inside the open case file for storage before picking it up and exiting his bureau, heading towards his young boss' office to hand over his work. When he reached the door, he knocked once and stood patiently for a moment before entering the room without awaiting a response.

Inside the large, square, red carpeted room sat a miniature replica of a judges desk you would fined in courtrooms, only this one had more angles and design on the front. Bookcases and shelves of objects swallowed up most of the back and side wall space, books stacked vertically on every available shelf, along with countless left-over books with no home that sat in organized piles beside the filled cases. On either side of the room were two doors— one lead to the filing room, and the other a private bedroom in the vent of late work-nights. In the midst of the office, a young man who was only twenty-one years of age sat behind the desk, an open book in his lap. A mop of black hair was swept messily in the man face, obscuring most of it from view. He wore all articles of clothing in black: black shoes, black dress pants, black long-sleeved turtleneck shirt, and just beyond, a black trench-coat was hung up on a coat rack behind him with a dark grey scarf. Without glancing up from his novel, the man spoke in a dismissive tone, "Mai, tea."

Lin bit back a remark that was on the tip of his tongue, _you don't even realize she's no longer at work, Noll._ He thought, shaking his head only slightly in disappointment before advancing into the room. He'd never respond harshly to his boss without reason, though sometimes it seemed easier to do so with how he acted with his female assistant around.

"Noll, I've finished the report from our last case," Lin stated simply, placing the file onto the clean and empty surface of the bureau. Oliver Davis, whom was under the alias of Shibuya Kazuya while working in Japan, lifted his eyes as his assistant spoke to him using his English nickname. Noll(or Naru, as Mai called him in Japanese) said nothing for a moment before sighing and setting his book on his desk. From far away, the book would have resembled a large dictionary; but up close, he could clearly see the maroon colored leather of the cover, where the title " _Psychic Phenomena: Theories and Legends_ " was written in bold black italics. _This is his pleasure reading, as per usual_ , Lin thought as he switched his gaze back to Naru, who had the file open in place of the book. After a few minutes, he nodded and shut the file, handing it back to the tall man in front of him.

"Go and store the file in the cabinet room."

Without a moments hesitation, Lin nodded once and walked directly towards the door to said room.

"Wait," Naru called, fixing his pose in his leather swivel chair, "where's Mai? I've asked for a cup of tea a little over ten minutes ago and hadn't heard a single curse nor any sort of response from her yet."

The tall Chinese man simply smirked in amusement with his back facing his boss as he searched for the correct key to unlock the cabinet room. "She has gone home for the night already, Noll. She has her University orientation to attend in a few days and must finish packing and moving her things to the new apartment she'll be living in," Lin stated, unlocking the door in front of him and entering, finding the current filing cabinet they were using. He unlocked the drawer when he found it and place the file inside, shutting it back up and locking it before leaving the room.

Both men stayed silent for a while, Naru nodded and resumed to reading his book as Lin stood nearby, lost in his thoughts. It wasn't long before he was suppressing yawn. Naru peeked at Lin and lowered his head in agreement. He was quite tired as well.

As Naru stood and gathered his coat, he and Lin heard a bell chime jingle— it was the SPR _'_ s front door. The two dark-haired men exited the large office and went to investigate who had bothered to come by so late in the evening. It wasn't another minute when they heard footsteps clambering up the staircase that lead to the front desk where Mai was usually stationed as the secretary of the SPR building. A few seconds passed by and a man in a grey business suit panted as he finished his trek up the steps. The man looked young and fit, most likely in his early thirties, with thick, brunette hair that was left decently long and a Van Dyke styled beard. He was bent forward with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath before standing up straight and facing the two other people in the room. He seemed to be sizing them up as his gaze traveled between them before he bowed politely, his heaving breaths still obvious, but then profound.

"Good evening, gentlemen. My name is Otsu Hisashi. I'm sorry to come so late in the night, but there was just an incident involving one of the underpasses near here; I'm the owner of said property and would like to discuss the on-goings as soon as possible."

Naru nodded and motioned for Lin to make tea while he gestured for the unexpected client to follow him into the interviewing room— which was basically like the living room of any ordinary house. Four black pieces of seating furniture took up plenty of the inner space; two were a simple single cushioned armed-chairs, while the other two were large couches, each facing parallel to the other across a rectangular coffee table. Naru pointed to the chair opposite of his own.

"Why don't you begin to explain your situation, Mr. Otsu? " Naru asked the man in his usual professional tone just as Lin returned with a tray of adorning three cups teas as well as a sugar bowl and placed the tray on the coffee table, handing out the teas he had prepared. Taking one of the steaming cups of tea, Naru blew on the rising vapor and took a sip, slumping and rolling his aching shoulders. Naru knew that Lin could make a tasteful cup of tea, but at that very moment, he was wishing for Mai's instead.

As if the Chinese man could hear Naru's thoughts, he let out a breath and prepared a notebook and a pencil, awaiting the client's story.

Not wasting another second, Mr. Otsu picked up one of the teas from the tray and began to explain the circumstances.

xXx

The night air was cold and sharp as Lin walked quickly to his modified Honda civic to escape the harsh gale. As he opened the car door, a gust of wind blew into the door, making it difficult for the man to close it as he sat himself in the drivers seat of the car. When he finally managed to close it, he sighed, shaking out his hair. The long fringe he had that covered nearly half his face was in a disarray, and he hastily brushed it down until it felt proper on his face. Sliding the key into the ignition, he eased out of the parking lot of the SPR property and onto Shibuya street, heading south. He drove towards his apartment building, which was approximately a half-hour drive away with heavy traffic. Fortunately, the streets were not nearly as busy at this time of night, much to his relief, and turned on some music, keeping it on low volume. He would never admit to his boss, but he did enjoy music from time to time; although, it was not the normal 'pop' music most of the other employees he worked with listened to. It was slightly more heavy, similar to rock and roll, but he only listened to the more... considerable rock music. Well, for the most part.

After driving for around fifteen minutes, nodding his head slightly along with the beat, volume low, he noticed an ambulance parked about twenty yards ahead of him on his right. It was parked crookedly on the side of the street, as well as a few police vehicles stretching along the road. He parked a block away from the scene to inspect it from afar. Unlike his boss, he was not so curious about what could possibly have occurred, but it happened to be in the direction of his apartment, so he decided to check out the scene; if it was even worth it.

 _Noll may want to investigate this, it might be Mr. Otsu's case,_ Lin considered, sighing. He'd left Naru back at the SPR building by his order's; He would sleep in his office's attached bedroom tonight. The only reason Lin could think of one other than the fact that he was already to conducting further investigation into Mr. Otsu's case, was so he wanted to catch Mai early and demand for tea. They hadn't yet agreed on taking his case, but it sounded quite interesting, to say the least. And considering Lin's luck, it was best to get some more close up information from the scene ahead of time, for obvious research purposes.

Officers were talking and walking towards a mound. After a moment, an EMT member emerged from the dark depths of the mound, carrying a stretcher up until it rested on the flat surface of the ground. The body didn't seem to be dead, but it certainly looked like hell was placed upon it. From the distance, it mainly looked like a scarlet mess of sheets and limbs, but due to the fact that there was no body-bag, he knew that person was still alive. _Quite unfortunate_ , he thought, sighing again. _This certainly is a case we should consider._

A thud sounded outside as something hit the black Honda. His body stilled for a moment before he noticed a flash of white in the corner of his vision. His head darted towards the white... hair? A woman who looked to be in her late teens or early twenties was sprawled beside his car door, rubbing her head. She was dressed in all black, but her short mane of white hair was tangled together, and as she shook her head, it didn't aid in fixing it. She stood up quickly, hiding her face behind the fringe of white hair as she tipped her head to the side. The woman stood completely still, her face tilted towards Lin's window. Her body tensed and she brought up her arms, preparing to attack, when a yell of one of the officers sounded close-by. Glancing around at the ground, she knelled down and hastily searched for something she must have dropped. When her expression brightened, she bent down briskly and retrieved a black mask, slipping it on over her face.

The man stared at her with wide eyes, awe-struck. He had no idea what to think or do, so he simply sat there, watching the woman turn around and head back into the alley. Gulping, the Lin finally reached his hand towards his door handle and unlocked his door, opening it. That was enough to grab her attention. She spun around and eyed the black vehicle, her body in a fighting stance as she awaited the man to exit him car. Suddenly voices were audibly picked up by the win, alerting them of the cops. The woman turned and ran into the dark alley, hoping up a ladder and climbing up onto the roof with ease. She glanced down at the black vehicle, as though expecting the man to follow her, then shook her head and spun around again, her hair flying, and disappeared from sight.

It took him some time to recollect himself from what he had just witnessed. While it was not just a potential murder scene, it was still something completely unnerving, as well as intriguing. He just hoped he could forget about that part of the night, seeing as his thoughts lingered on the white-mane girl. But that was unlikely to happen.


	4. Ch II: First Encounter

**_Chapter II_**

**_First Encounter_**

_She needed to get home— before she ran out of whatever chances she had left._

A small young woman with milky-white hair and lightly-tanned skin was slowly making her way down a semi-lit stone pathway, the moon casting small shadows from the surrounding trees and bushes that covered most of the walkway. She could only see about a meter or two in front of her before the darkness made it difficult to make anything out. As she lumbered exhaustively down the path, she felt a gut-wrenching pulse vibrate her soul, making her wince. She was much to tired to deal with anymore beings, human or otherwise—but fate never seemed to take pity on her. 

A faint glow emerged in the gloom before her, growing lighter and lighter, until a humanoid figure was visible through the glare. The glow dimmed, only outlining the figure, and the silery-white haired girl was able to identify another woman; a translucent woman at that. She had sagging shoulders that sported a mud stained baby-blue nightdress, her feet none-existent at the torn hem, unlike the rest of her glassy body. Her long, black stringy hair hung in disarray around her face, and scarlet-colored tear tracks stained her incredibly pale, porcelain skin. Her solid, black eyes were wide as she stared at the small girl, a wickedly evil smile transforming her face from a decently creepy visage to a dangerously psychotic mien. She reached a bony arm towards the girl before she opened her mouth in an 'oh',her face stretching in incredible lengths and her gapping mouth tearing wide before letting out a ear-splitting scream. 

Wincing and squeezing her eyes shut, she moved her hands automatically to cup her ears to block the shrieks of the Banshee. Yes, it was a _Banshee_ , of all things. _Worst. Timing. Ever._ She thought, her brain muddle from fatigue and was now starting to pound zealously. Just prior to her current circumstances, she had encountered another creature—that one was getting her fix of blood in a rather shambolic way. The outcome of the event was _not_ a pretty sight to behold. 

Although many myths and legends were true, those concerning Banshee's were hardly accurate. Banshee's are spirits with goddess-like appearances whom are summoned to become the guardians of treasures, with the price of the summoner: years taken from what time is left of their life, or stealing their beauty and leaving them scarred physically and emotionally, forever. They would deceive the hunters and threats with their beauty until they displayed their true features and attacked by screeching to deafening tones, which mostly resulted in the hypnotized humans ears to bleed profusely and for them to cave onto the ground in pain with their own frightened wails, before the malevolent creatures would devour their poor souls. 

However, for her, she could see right through the evil spirit's deceptive power to the core of their soul, viewing the true horrid creatures beneath the forgery beauty. But that never made it any better dealing with them first-hand. Why it was even here in the first place , she had no clue. But she dis known one thing for sure; she was a ghost magnet. 

As the screeching grew louder, the girl was brought down to her knees, the pain amplified as her eardrums began to throb. The bag she had forgotten she was carrying fell onto the stone path with an audible **_THUD_** , which was surprising considering the fact that the Banshee's voice were so intense and loud. In an attempt to hinder the forceful cries, she brought her hands away from her ears and opened her eyes, her teeth grinding together as the pain made her body sway awkwardly, almost making her tip onto her side like a drunkard. She shook her head sharply, her vision blurring, and raised her arms, palms out, pointing straight at the frightful woman that hovered before her. Concentrating on her inner energy as hard as she could, despite her pulsating cranium, she felt her hands spark as light began to glow. She continued to focus on her target before letting out a bullet of light from each hand, both sailing directly into the vitreous woman. The screams were cut off immediately, and the Banshee disappeared not a second later, her body twisting in impossible angles, glitching like a television screen and her face contorting until her expression was similar to the painting _The Scream_ , before becoming a thick mist and then evaporating right into the air. 

The white-haired girl simply knelt there for another minute, her ears still aching as it throbbed it felt as though thick drum-sticks were striking her cotton-packed head like cymbals, pounding and ringing vigorously. She could hardly move her body when she made an effort to stand up, and her vision grew hazier and more spotted as she did so. It wasn't long before she fell over onto her side, her face laying in the silky, yet sharp grass. She didn't have enough energy to keep herself upright any more. 

As she laid there on the ground, she couldn't help where her mind wondered, her current position reminding herself of the poor, mutilated man she found in the hands of the previous monster she fought. She was able to help him by calling in the authorities anonymously and giving him a special grind of herbs to ease the pain and aid to prepare in healing him so the damage wasn't so permanent; but in her case, she'd be lucky if anyone even found herself on the side of the path in time. Those thoughts invaded her mind, reverberating endlessly as her consciousness dwindled. She could feel her body weaken the longer she stayed on the path. The words _demon_ and _abomination_ repeated over and over again as everything went dark. 

_It was late evening when Mai found herself on a silent street she seemed to recognized, only slightly. Remembering that she had gone to bed not long ago, she knew she was dreaming one of her special 'psychic' dreams; and considering her location, she assumed it would be for her teams oncoming case._

_Mai wondered down the gloomy road until she noticed a small, pale-haired girl strolling down the sidewalk, a duffel bag clutched in her hands._ She must be heading home from work _, Mai gathered, watching her close the distance between them. As the girl neared, she paused, a frown on her pretty face, her eyes scoping around her before landing on Mai. Vibrant violet orbs of eyed pierced the sodden air as she gazed towards the brunette. Her eyes were focused, but not on Mai, although it was fairly obvious that she knew Mai was there. Or at least that something was._

_Mai's eyes widened in complete shock as she stared right back, her mouth gaped. This has never happened before in one of her dreams. Nobody other than Gene— her spirit guide of whom she had not seen in nearly three years— had been able to interact with her unless she was in a first-person scenario. And this certainly was not that kind of dream, yet.._

_Both girls continued to stare at each other, the fair-haired girl's gaze penetrating seemingly to Mai's soul. It felt very awkward to her, and she shuddered at the thought of what was coming up next. If her dream was already leading her to eye-opening scenes such as this, then she was unnerved of what the main attraction was. As Mai and the other girl stayed completely still, neither twitching their bodies in indication that they were going to move, Mai decided to take into account of the appearance of the girl. But... for some reason, it was all unclear; her face looked blurred out, as well as her body, when she stood near. From a distance, she was more discernible, but that did not seem to be the case now. It was only the girls eyes that were clear to make out, and that startled Mai a little bit._

_Time flew by and finally the white-headed girl moved, shaking her head and taking a deep breath, her voice murmuring something inaudible to Mai's ears before she started walking again, right past Mai. As she did so, Mai could have sworn she felt her bare arm brush against the girls sleeve, giving her goose bumps. Turning around, Mai's eyes lingered on the girls back, and she frowned._ This is the oddest dream I've had yet, and the most unnerving as well... _Her thoughts trailed off as she finally noticed how far ahead the other girl was. Blinking, completely stupefied, she hurried after her, her feet silently pounding down onto the road. Just up ahead was a full-length wire-link fence. Mai saw the girl in front of her pause and stare beyond the fence at something, her eyes roaming the surrounding area as though she was trying to take everything in. Just over the fence was a man who appeared to be in his thirties wearing a security guard uniform, flashing a light towards a dark cave-looking entrance. He seemed to be shouting something into the hole, and Mai frowned slightly. What was he doing?_

_Another minute later, the guard began descending the steps into the dark hole. Mai pursed her lips, wondering what would happen. The tan-skinned girl stayed in the same position as before, staring directly into the black, vertical pit. Time seemed to tick by with nothing occurring on either side of the fence. Well, that was the case, until Mai heard a loud, male's blood-curdling scream coming from the direction of the underpass. She gasped and went towards the fence, forgetting about the other girl almost instantly. The white-haired girl, on the other hand, was already up and over the fence, sprinting towards the tunnel's opening, far ahead of Mai. The girl stopped just before the entrance, her eyes narrowed into slits as she stared into the darkness. A loud **THUD** and **CRASH** echoed from within the cave, and the girl immediately darted into the depths below. Mai approached the mouth of the tunnel and went to follow after the girl, but bumped into a solid, invisible wall just before the first step. Something was stopping her from investigating. Just as Mai gave it another shot to enter the cave, hitting the force field once again, she felt the ominous inkling of a dark, evil presence that lurked deep within the tunnels. Mai backed away from the entrance, suddenly scared of what was beyond that point when the pale-haired girl came back out of the tunnel, looking exhausted—her back and shoulders slumping forward and her head bowed, her uneven bangs covering the majority of her face; not that it was visible before._

_Without hesitation, Mai reached her hand out towards the girl in concern, "Hey," she whispered, her voice cracking, "are you all— oh!" she gasped mid-sentence when she noticed the red stains covering some of the girls clothing. Her worry spiked, hands covering her mouth in fear as she tried to gain the girls attention. Mai waved her hands in front of the panting girl and tried touching her, her hand landing on the solid sleeve of the girls sweat-shirt. The pale-haired girl jumped, her bleary-eyes dancing around in search of whatever touched her. Mai gasped and drew away, clutching her hand tightly to her chest. She stared wide-eyed at the other girl, glancing from her hand and back to where she had previously touched her. It was a lot to take in._

_Just as she was deciding on what to do next, the worn-out girl turned her back on Mai and dove her hand into her pockets, sliding out a familiar rectangular-shaped purple object with black, swirling lines decorating it. A cell phone. Upon opening the mobile device, she immediately called a number and held it up o her ear, tapping her foot anxiously on the concrete. Mai bit her lip and observed the girl quietly, still holding her hand to her chest. After a moment of hearing the cell ring faintly, someone on the other end seemed to pick up._

_"This is Tokyo's police department, what's your situation?"_

_"Hello?" the girl called quietly to the other end. It sounded like she was deliberately trying to sound off, though Mai didn't know what her voice actually sounded like to compare, "I— I'm near the Otsu prop-property and I saw wo-one of the security guards go down into the tunnel sh-shouting. He screamed a-and hasn't c-come back out yet!" She whimpered to the officer on the line._ Wow _, Mai gawked,_ she's pretty good at acting... _She didn't appear to have a trace of fear on her face, but her voice said otherwise. Wither it was faked or her real emotions, Mai couldn't tell. All she could do was watch the scene unfold._

_"When was this, ma'am?" The officer asked, their voice calm. It wasn't clear to wither it was a male or female, but regardless to Mai's silent question, the girl answered, "J-just a few minutes ago. I was wa-walking down the sidewalk and s-saw it happen. It looked like he was p-pulled down by something," the girl pretended to sob, to indicate how serious the situation was. Even though Mai could tell the show was fake, the look in her crystal-clear eyes said that it was mentally scarring, and for once, Mai was relieved she had not had to witness what happened. But just thinking about what the girl saw, made her shudder with guilt._

_The conversation between both individuals on the cell phone lasted another minute before the girl hung up, sighing. She glanced back into the dark cave and slumped her shoulder lower, before shaking her head and walking towards an alleyway nearby the post-crime-scene. She hid behind a garbage can and waited, scouting the area for something. Soon, police cars and an ambulance arrived, and relief flooded the girls eyes. Mai stood beside her, hugging her arms close. The property ahead of them looked like a crime-scene seen in movies and television shows, and Mai tilted her head to the side, wondering how long she'd be watching this until she would wake up._

_Just as the thought crossed her mind, everything went dark._

**xXx**

Mai's eyes opened slowly as she came to, the light streaming through her blinds made her flinch and cover her head with her comforter. She re-opened them and rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up, stretching her arms and back. It was the first time in a very long time that Mai could remember her dream perfectly well and not being frightened after she awoke. She bit her lip and frowned, recounting the events from her dream. _How long ago did that happen?_ She wondered, slipping out of her bed and treading towards her door, her bare feet slapping the wood of her floor. It seemed to be pretty recent, but she couldn't very well tell. All she knew to do, for now, was get ready for work and alert Naru of her dream. 

Upon arriving at the SPR building, Mai noticed all the unofficial members of SPR (aside from Osamu Yasuhara) were sitting in the waiting room, chatting with one another. She blinked, confused, but smiled and walked over to greet them. 

"Hey guys. What's going on?" Mai asked, placing her bag by her desk before going over to the group. They all turned to look at her, their faces lighting up at the sight of her. 

"Jou-chan! I missed you," the second tallest of the group, Takigawa Houshou, exclaimed, standing and hugging the small girl tightly and making her gasp out a laugh. Houshou had been a monk half a decade ago before he quit, and was now in a popular band called _Rebel Spirits_. Because of his prior occupation and his skills as an exorcist, as well as the fact that he was like an older brother to Mai, she called him Bou-san. 

But despite their relationship, Mai was sometimes worried about dying in Bous-sans arms, like she currently was. 

Not a moment later, something hard whacked him in the back of the head, making him release Mai from his grip and shrink back, clutching his head. 

"Let her go, pedophile! You're suffocating her. It's only been a week since you last saw her," the red-headed priestess stated, glaring at the tall man. She wore a cream colored pencil skirt and blue blouse topped with a cream office jacket. _Ayako looks the same as she always does_ , Mai thought, watching the two oldest members in the room bicker at each other. When Bou-san called Ayako an 'old lady', she nearly blew up, her face turning as red as her hair. Mai sighed and ignored them, hearing another **_SMACK_** and Bou-sans whining as she sat down beside an average-sized blonde haired Australian priest who was only a few years Mai's senior. 

"Morning, John-kun," Mai smiled, and the boy smile back politely. 

"Good morning, Miss Taniyama. How was your night?" He asked her, and Mai sighed, giving him an amused look. 

"Haven't I told you to just call me Mai, John-san? After all, we've known each other for years now." She concluded, and he looked at her thoughtfully before nodding in agreement. 

"I'm sorry, Miss Tani—Mai-san. Old habits are hard to get rid of, unfortunately," the Australian replied, and Mai shrugged, having gotten used to to John's old formal Japanese. 

"I suppose you're right about that. But still, I feel old when you call me 'Miss', and I'm the second youngest here!" She giggled, causing John to chuckle with her. 

"Mai is quite right, Brown-san. Calling her 'miss' while she continues to act like a child at her age is certainly not appropriate," a girl said in a bored tone. She sat a few feet away from the two, wearing a blue traditional kimono, her black hair having noticeably grown from her chin to her shoulders over the years. She hid half of her face from view with her sleeve as she looked at them. 

John's cheeks reddened and he looked away from the snapping medium. Mai simply rolled her eyes and glared at her. 

"Masako, no need to be so rude to little ol' Mai here. Her cuteness balances everything out," a boy grinned nearby, causing the kimono girl to huff and look away. Mai sighed and smiled at the dark-haired boy. Yasuhara was always there to finish disputes— or cause them, sometimes. He had a big sense of humor and no shame in anything he did, but Mai admired that aspect of his. 

"Thank you, Yasu," Mai smiled at her colleague, and he gasped, holding his hand over his heart dramatically. 

"Mai smiled! Oh my, my heart can't take the adorableness... Everything is floating away. Houshou darling, catch me!" 

Then Yasu fell backward into the monk. 

The laughter Mai was holding back escaped, and she clutched at her stomach while laughing at the two men on the floor— one hugging the other with a dreamy smile on his face while the other looked terrified and tried to squirm away. The sight was enough to make everyone in the room burst into laughter. 

"If you are all done fooling around, I would like to get down to business." 

The chatter immediately ceased as the cold voice announced his presence. Her boss, Oliver Davis, or as Mai preferred to call him _Naru the Narcissist_ , regarded everyone with an expressionless face before he went and sat down on his chair. As per usual, he was decked out in black clothing. Everyone watched him as he opened his mouth to speak. Mai knew just what he was going to say. 

_Don't say it... Don't say it..._ She pleaded in her head, crossing her fingers in hope. 

"Mai," Naru looked at her and a faint smirk appeared on his face, "tea." 

_Damnit._

**I have updated this chapter as well as the previous ones! I hope you will re-read them to see the changes and edits I made, if it's not to much trouble!**

_**Rebecca:** _**Thank you very much! Honestly, I was wondering if I had put to much detail or made it to long, but I kept at it and well.. Ta-da! Your review really made me happy to see, and so soon after posting it only hours earlier. Hope you keep enjoying reading the story as much as I love writing it!**


	5. Ch III: The New Room-mate

**_Chapter III_**

**_The New Roommate_**

Mai returned to the common-room where everyone was situated, carrying a tray stacked high with tea-cups filled with Earl Grey tea, honey, sugar and spoons gallore. She handed a cup to everyone, saving a certain someone's for last. Lin, who stood right behind his charge, nodded in thanks to Mai as she handed him the second last tea on the tray; she had already set hers on the table before daring to get close to her boss. When she finally approached Naru, she glared at him, turning her face away and lowering the tray so he could retrieve the cup himself. Raising an eyebrow in question but ignoring her, Naru took the cup and closed his eyes, taking a sip. Mai stood still for another moment, praying that the pale man clad in black would have learned some form of manners after being away in England and returning not long ago. But to her disappointment, the man said nothing, and she huffed, muttering "Naru-narushisuto" under her breath. While she did happen to mutter her words, it was still audible to everyone, but never-the-less, undeterred Naru as he simply glanced at her before placing his tea on the table and picking up a file. 

"We have a case," Naru announced, and everyone bobbed their heads in acknowldgement, looking at him. Mai dropped the tea-tray onto the table with a loud _BAN_ G, causing most of the throng to jump, startled. Mai felt a little guiltyat her action, but she shook it away and just crossed her arms over her chest indignantly. 

Yasuhara whistled, "Oi, Mai-Chan! You don't happen to be on your-" 

Ayako gave a stern glare at the four-eyed joker, silencing him mid-sentence. Mai was still acting unlike herself whenever Naru was around, but nobody knew the reason why. Bou-san reckoned that Naru had done something 'unforgivable' to Mai, and perverted assumptions were mentioned that swiftly followed with an immediate hand-bag to the head. Others thought that she just had enough of Naru's personality and rude comments directed towards her. Ayako presumed that Mai was rejected and hurt from the abrupt abandonment when Naru returned to England. Unbeknownst to Ayako, she had the most accurate a guess. 

Watching Mai's sudden display of attitude toward him almost made Naru want to smile. She had certainly changed while he'd been gone, and it had taken quite a lot of persuading on everyone's part to get her to join the re-opened SPR. It was... a nice change; she was getting more determined and less reckless, in his opinion. And, possibly, smarter. _If that were possible_ , Naru chuckled inside. However, his thoughts traveled from Mai's intelligence to her cold facade towards him. Every-so often, he'd feel a slight ache in his chest whenever Mai would look away from him, or purposely avoid him. After what had happened that day two years ago, before he left for England, he wondered if her feelings were still the same. _Surely not, with this attitude_ , Naru concluded to assure himself, though he didn't quite know what he was assuring himself for, _why am I even thinking about this? It was not me; she was simply confused between our identities, since we were... are twins._ He wasn't quite sure how to regard his brother yet— he had no knowledge of him passing on or not. That worried him to a degree. _This is childish; I have more important matters_. He chided himself, rubbing his temples to relieve himself of his inane thinking. He needed to focus and not get distracted with these silly emotions, they never had done him any good anyway. 

_Now, on to business._

Clearing his throat and opening the file, Naru began to elucidate the available information, "Last evening at eleven twenty-seven, after Mai had left, a man by the name of Mr. Otsu Hisashi came to us with a case regarding a run-down tunnel that is on his property. According to him," Naru had memorized the events mentioned by Mr. Otsu before hand, "several men had been attacked down in the tunnel. The first account was recorded a decade ago, where he had a team of demolition contractors sent into the tunnel to salvage any machinery and inspect the area before any further plans for demolishing the site. One man, who's name Mr. Otsu would not give due to the family of the victim's request, had been attacked and killed by _something inhuman_ , according to the survivors of the team, which had alerted the rest of said group, making them flee the area. They hadn't a clue wither the culprit was a machine gone haywire at the time or a spirit; however, I assuming the latter." 

Ayako, Bou-san and Yasuhara nodded, hard expressions evident on their faces. Masako unceasingly kept the lower half of her face concealed from view with her sleeve, while John frowned intently, his attention patently on Naru. Mai looked at him from the corner of her eye, listening to the case history and waited for him to continue, a feeling something tickling the back of her mind from the beginning of the description of the case. 

"The second account occurred seven years ago; a trespassing scavenger, identified to be Shuuru Fugashi, based on dental records, was found at the foot of the stairs inside the tunnel. They didn't know the situation that took place, but based on the state of his corpse, it was clear that something inhuman had torn the man apart. There are photos of the crime scene for you to all observe, if you need to." 

Naru placed a series of photos out on the table, and multiple gasps rang throughout the room as everyone surveyed the damaged corpses. Mai turned her head to look herself, only to cover her mouth in shock. Whilst there were only three they looked to be more like piles of flesh and entrails than supposed bodies. In one picture was a close up on a pile of red goo-like substance with flesh-daubed bones, and chunks of hair. More bones were scattered all around it, and blood was splattered everywhere on the ground. The next photo was a little more clean, but just as revolting. The man's face was in a permanent expression of pure terror, his eyes and mouth wide as blood expelled from the hollow holes in the skull. His eyes had been gagged out, lying on both side of his head, the irises facing up towards the sky. His stomach had been torn open, his intestines ripped out and dispersed around his body like a gruesome display of art. His clothes were shredded and most of the mans hair had been torn out of his head, leaving fleshy bald patches that made the skull visible beneath. They were nightmare inducing scenes to behold. 

At the thought of nightmares, Mai recounted her dream of the girl entering a tunnel, the tickling evanescing. Her eyes broadened as things began to click the pieces together. Tearing her eyes away from the photos, Mai turned towards Naru, "Naru? Has there been a recent attack?" She asked innocently, her sudden interest capturing Naru's attention. If she was right, then she had a few answers to the millions of questions invading her brain. 

Naru gave her a knowing look but nodded, "Yes, there has. Just last night, a security guard by the name of Harumi Uchida was attacked, but has survived. He was—" 

"He was patrolling the grounds and got dragged down into the tunnel? Then an anonymous call came in shortly after and the authorities came in time to save the day? Or so they claim to have." Mai interrupted him, her statement sounding of a question, but Naru knew she wasn't asking anything except for clarification. The SPR irregulars gazes landed on Mai, shock clear on their faces. Regardless of the fact that they knew of Mai's powers, they still were surprised by the way Mai interrupted the narcissistic boss. Naru nodded slowly, ignoring the others reactions. 

"That is correct. Fortunately, you seem to already understand the situation, Mai. I'm sure that I will have to explain everything for you now," Naru commented, receiving a loud 'humph' from said brunette. Mai crossed her arms defensively over her chest, which was larger than it was before he had left. Crossing her arms together while wearing a 'V' cut neckline t-shirt emphasized her 'assets' as she pouted, making Naru glance away, another odd, uncomfortable sensation bubbling up— this time on his face. This one had appeared the more he tended to look at his assistant, and it was impossible to stop it. Well, for now. 

This time, it was Bou-san who spoke up, "Anyways... I'm assuming you have already agreed to taking this case, right?" he asked, his chin resting in his hand as he looked at his young 'boss'. 

Naru nodded and began gathering up the photos laid out on the table, "We will leave tomorrow by nine o'clock in the morning; you are all required to be there on time. Mai, I will have Lin come and pick you up. You should be ready by then, yes?" He asked, his voice smug. Mai spun her head towards him for the first time that day and narrowed her eyes at him in offense, "Of course I will be," she stated, her cheeks coloring slightly. Regardless of how she acted, she could never get rid of her feelings for Naru. Unfortunately for her, it could most certainly be her demise; it almost had been, too. But now, Mai had to focus on proving her words to her boss. With that thought, she started making a plan. 

_I need to make sure I have my clothes prepared... As well as packing my things. I might as well prepare food so I can eat quickly and go to bed early tonight... I might have more dreams too._ She blinked in realization and nearly palmed herself in the face. 

All _of my things are packed up already—_

"Ah, Naru," Mai said, her voice just barely stuttering, "I— I forgot to mention, I'm moving into the shared-apartment today—" 

_"Shared-apartment?"_ Bou-san and Ayako exclaimed in sync, standing up and looking down at Mai, who sat across from them. Mai opened and closed her mouth, then gave a small, cringing smile, "Y—yup..." 

Bou-san placed his hands on his hips and narrowed his gaze at the brunette, just who was she rooming with? As he opened his mouth to ask that exact question, Ayako beat him to it, "And just who are you rooming with?" 

Mai visibly gulped. Masako and John were staring at Mai now, dumbstruck at the small girl's words. Even Naru, who had gotten up to leave into his office, turned back to watch the minor dispute. Lin had already retreated to his office, but had peeked his head out the door to watch as well. Yasuhara, on the other hand, covered his mouth his hands, attempting to keep his laughter in check. He didn't want the red-headed demon to smack him with her bag, or worse; her heel. 

As everyone's gazes landed on Mai, she began to fidget, looking at the ground as though she were being scolded by her parents for sneaking out and staying out late or lying about where she was going. She knew they had good intentions, but this was a little much, "Of course I know who it is," she replied in a low tone. They all continued to stare at her until she continued, "She's one of my senpai's from high school. She graduated a year before I did and happens to be entering to the same University I am, so while I was searching for an apartment that was near both school and work, she came along and offered to share her apartment with me while hanging little 'room-for-rent' posters. I will be paying half the rent, it's a decent size, and it also fits the criteria I was looking for. She's a good person, really," Mai explained, sighing. 

Ayako pursed her lips together and nodded, letting put a breath of relief. Bou-san visibly relaxed when he heard 'she', as did Naru, who didn't even realize it until he did so. Yasuhara calmed down his giggling and nodded; John and Masako both just sat there staring at Mai. Lin, however, had again retreated into his office. 

"Why is she just entering Uni now?" Yasuhara asked, calling everyone's question out loud. Mai looked thoughtfully at Yasuhara, rolling her eyes, "Because~, she decided to take a year off school to work and save money for an apartment, kind of like how I worked plenty during my early high school years, instead of using only scholarships." 

What she said made sense, and seemed to ease the others doubts faintly. But only that much. 

"Either way... I want to meet your 'senpai' before you move," Bou-san declared, using his big-brother voice. Ayako elbowed him in the ribs, glaring at him, " Don't you mean so that you can meet a possibly pretty girl, you pedophile?" 

"No way! How could you say such a thing? I'm no pedophile, right Mai? I just want to meet the woman she's going to be rooming with in her apartment. And it wouldn't be considered being a pedophile if she's a legal adult..." Yasuhara blew out a breath of laughter at that, "though I wouldn't be surprised if she's prettier than you, you old ha—" Bou-san received a heel to the crotch for that. 

Nobody reacted, as this was a normal occurrence with those two specifically. After about ten minutes of their constant bickering, Mai got up and stood between the two adults, "Would you two please stop? I need to get going so I can get my things moved into the apartment. Would you like to help, Bou-san? And Ayako, I'm sure you would like to help out too, right?" Mai asked, trying to distract them. It worked; they couldn't say no to Mai, after all. 

"I'll help!" Yasuhara waved his arm around enthusiastically, beaming. Masako huffed and looked away from the group, leaving John to decide if he wanted to tag along or not. John nodded and stood up himself, smiling, "Alright, I'll come and help too, Mai-chan." 

Mai smiled at his efforts and nodded gratefully, turning towards the door and calling out, "I'm leaving, Naru!" before grabbing her things and exiting. Naru stood by his office door and shook his head, walking towards his assistants door and opening it. Lin was already hard at work, typing on his computer. The young boss walked up to his old guardian, "Lin, escort Mai to her new apartment and return after she has settled in enough to be ready for tomorrow," he inquired to the tall Chinese man. Lin simply nodded in answer to his charge and stood up, grabbing his coat quickly to catch up with the group. Naru stayed behind and exhaled slowly, before returning to his study. 

**xXx**

"So, what's this senpai of yours like, Mai-san?" Yasuhara asked eagerly. Mai just shrugged, earning a few dubious glances from her group members who were all sitting in the vehicle with her. They were driving to her new apartment building, where the movers truck would most likely already be. She had brought everything but the furniture in her old apartment, other than her bed, nightstand and dressers. Considering the load, it was enough to involve a moving company to aid in bringing her things to the new building. And although they would be helping her move her things, she simply wanted her group members as support while she relocated. 

"I'm not all that sure; I mean, she's nice. She's pretty too, of course. Pretty laid back for what I've seen, although she has been through a lot, from what I've observed. We had talked only a few times when I was in high-school, but we're friendly enough, I think. She transferred into my school near the end of my first year, so she only attended the two years," Mai responded, gazing out the window. Everyone nodded coolly and hoped for the best as they neared their destination. 

"Where would you like to put these items, ma'am?" one of the movers asked, holding a cardboard box. The silvery-white-mained woman to whom he was speaking to motioned her hand towards an open door in the apartment, "In there is perfect," she replied, her accent evident in her voice. It wasn't heavy, but it was noticeable, and seemed to make the working mover do a double-take back at her before heading off into the room as directed. It took two hours before everything was placed in the bedroom and the bed, nightstand and dressers were re-built and ready to dress or fill. The two movers nodded towards the young woman as they left after having written the companies number down on a sheet of paper for her to call if 'she needed anything at all', and they would come. 

However, there were two numbers on the paper, and neither of them resembled the companies dial set at all. 

The white haired girl sighed and crumpled the paper in her hand before tossing it into the recycle-bin. She walked into the kitchen and began making a cup of coffee for herself, her energy still somewhat depleted due to the events the night prior. She was thankful her sensei had found her and brought her back to his shrine, taking care for her overnight. Although, she could have done without the long lectures on using to much power and energy and exerting herself. But he was right, after all; she had used to much last night. The woman's spirit was fierce and took quite a bit to hold back, let alone exorcise properly without any other help and with less preparation and essentials, even though she never had anybody's help other than sensei's. Adding the Banshee and her shrieks to the mix and she had exhausted a lot more energy than she expected, as well as the willow-the-wisp energy blasts she aimed at the creature to exorcise and remove it. She was still recovering, even at mid-day. 

As the white-haired girl sat herself down, she heard a knock on the door. Groaning, her knees buckled for a moment as she regained her balance, and trotted towards the door, albeit a little slowly. As she drew closer, she could feel more than a single soul on the other side of the door. _It must be her, and possibly a few friends... This'll be interesting._ She thought, gulping in mild anxiety. Nervousness gripped her throat as she reached for the doorknob and twisted it, throwing the door open to greet the throng of new faces. 

Boy, was she ever right about _that_. 

Mai knocked on the apartment door and waited with her friends in the hallway. 

"Mai, don't you have a key to the apartment yet?" Bou-san asked her, frowning. Mai nodded. 

"I'm not going to barge in there with my friends after having my things just moved in, you know," Mai chided, raising an eyebrow at him. 

When they had arrived minutes before, they all noticed the lack of mover trucks at the building, so they had assumed everything had already been attended to by the new 'roommate' of Mai's. Being respectful to her seemed justified enough. 

Lin stood at the back of the group, eyeing the door suspiciously. It was not that he had any negative inklings concerning who was beyond the door, but he did have... a feeling, one that seems powerful yet soothing, and furthermore, it made him all the more curious. 

He would relay this information to Noll, he decided. He knew his charge was in goods hands as he had left two of his five Shiki behind to guard him in his absence. Coming back from his thoughts due to a chorus of low growls, Lin noticed that his remaining Shiki, however, reacted in an unusual manner to the individual residing in the complex; it was none threatening, yet cautious. The tension in his body made his arm twitch in frustration and confusion as he waited with the group, sending his Shiki to guard and enter the suite to investigate. 

There was a seal as well as a Ward of which prevented unwanted spirits and creatures from entering the apartment, he noted, after witnessing two of his Shiki practically bouncing back when in close contact with the door, unable to penetrate the simple-made wood door and walls to scope out the renter on the other side. How could he not have sened to wards? This individual was a magic user, he mused in wonder. Questions piled up as the suspense raised in his muscles, and he clenched his fist, allowing only his hands to betray any type emotional expressed on his normally stoic and bland figure. 

The sound of a lock turning alerted whole gang and they all straightened up, awaiting the door to open and see the stranger Mai would be living with. Lin in particular narrowed his eyes in waiting. 

It didn't take long for that to happen. 

As the door opened wide, a young girl just below average height stood before them, leaning against the door-jamb with her shoulder. She wore a black, long-sleeved sweater and black yoga pants that left almost nothing to the imagination with her curvacious figure, and grey moccasins covered her feet. Her light-tanned skin clashed well with her nearly pure-silvery white hair that was cut short in many angles, at her chin, the free-styled cut fringe-like bangs covering half of her face. Her large, violet-doe eyes danced over them, examining each of the group-members as they all stared in awe at her. 

Lin's jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the girl. It wasn't her appearance that left him in stunned, although it did aid a slight bit— but it was the uncanny resemblance she had to the woman he had seen the night before. 

_Was it possible? Coincidence? No, no coincidence's have ever existed; it's fate._ And Lin knew that they had all met this woman for a reason, though he hadn't the clue what that particular reason was. How he had not noticed her aura before with his first encounter with the girl the previous night, he couldn't explain. He needed answers, and the only way to get them we're through the young lady who leaned causally observing the faces before her. 

As for Mai, as she smiled at her senpai, blinking and squinting her eyes until she recognized her senpai's similar features to the ones from her dream the night before. Her violet eyes glowed just like the dream-girls had. _It was her after all..._ It was enough to leave Mai in an abrupt state of shock. _What had she been doing last night of all things...?_

"Hello there, thank you all for bringing Mai-chan on over. It's nice to meet you all," the girl said with an obvious accent. It didn't hinder her pronunciation with her Japanese, though, "I'm Rinsaki. Mei Rinsaki." 

**_Rebecca:_ Ooooooooohoooooooh! Thank you for yet another review! (Very unexpected, and so soon... AGAIN) Well, I was eager to update after I saw your comment, and I do hope you enjoyed reading it so far, so thank you very much for that! And trust me, That girl will certainly appear more than a few times in this story... *wink* *wink*... I'm excited to write so many parts.. AHHHHH! Also, if you are reading this Rebecca, I suggest making an account so we can PM!**

**If anyone else wants to, that perfectly fine with me too.**

**If anyone else is reading this story, I'm glad you bothered to.**

**If anyone else... Eh, you know.**

**Before I forget; I had found a manga earlier online where the MC's name was also Kazuya Shibuya, does anyone know the title of it? If so, let me know! Especially if it's good or not.. I was skeptical. BUT, I do recommend the manga 'Sekai Oni', it was ADORABLE... Well, the MC was; it is basically a thriller, action, drama, fantasy, mystery, mature, shounen, and psychological story. But it made me feel so many FEELS, I loved it so much. I read all 101 chapters in one day! So let me know your thoughts! If you red it and see 'Cherokee' in the comments on Kissmanga, feel free to say... whatever!**


	6. AN- Discontinued version

Hey guys! I'm sorry to say that I'm going to be taking this story down.

What I mean is, I'll be rewriting it on another document and story. I'm not satisfied with the chapters and I keep fixing them and changing them, but it's unfair to you guys who have already read the chapters I previously posted and missed the new entries and information that I added to them; so I'm rewriting it. Same situations, maybe a bit different dialogue, more detail and longer chapters (I'm used to writing around 6k to 8k chapters in free-writing, but I was in a hurry with my first ones and because of that and school I've gotten Writers Block, which I absolutely HATE with EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING. I love writing, but c'mon... I need to step up my game!

I won't remove this story until I have rewritten every chapter and posted a new one for my new revised version of my fanfiction. So, I want to thank everyone who have reviewed up until now, the few who have. It makes me sad to lose them honestly.. That's one reason I was skeptical on creating a new one to replace this one. I loved reading the reviews and they made me so very happy to see how much people were enjoying what little I wrote and came up with— it definitely encourages me to continue writing.

I also want to thank everyone who has Favorited my story and added it to their archives. If you want to, when I have my new story up and ready, you can replace this one with my better version in your lists. That is, of course, if you want to. I'm not even sure how many people will be checking this message in the first place, so I might be starting with square one with reads on my story. However, I'm willing to take the risk. The current chapters are bugging me, I chose to fix them, I will deal with the consequences. If you do, thank you for respecting my decision. I'm sorry to those who disagree with my choice though. I've already made up my mind.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEW BOOK!

Resu~


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